Textile fabric for the outer shell of a firefighter&#39;s garment

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to a textile fabric. This fabric is particularly well suited for use as the outer shell fabric of a firefighter&#39;s garment. The fabric is a woven or knitted fabric of spun yarns and multi-filament yarns. The spun yarn includes a first staple being a polymer selected from the group consisting of aramid, PBI or PBO or melamine formaldehyde, and a second staple being an aramid polymer. The multi-filament yarn includes an aramid filament.

RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] The instant application is a continuation-in-part of co-pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/933,301 filed Aug. 20, 2001.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention is directed to a textile fabric for use asthe outer shell fabric of a firefighter's garment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The outer shell fabric of a firefighter's garment must be flame,heat, abrasion, tear, and moisture resistant, durable, and lightweight.This outer shell fabric provides the first layer of protection for thefirefighter.

[0004] U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,095,549; 5,136,723; 5,701,606; 5,983,409;5,996,122; and 6,038,700 disclose, among other things, firefighter'sgarments having an outer shell fabric made of PBI/aramid fibers.

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,602 discloses a woven, outer shell fabricmade for firefighter's garments where the warp yarns are multi-filamentaramid yarns and the weft yarns are either multi-filament or spun aramidyarns.

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,065 discloses a firefighter's hood of a knitfabric formed of a blend of PBI and aramid fibers.

[0007] U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,065,153 and 6,192,520 disclose a woven outershell fabric for a firefighter's garments. This fabric has a plain,twill or rip stop weave and the yarns are a mixture of PBI and aramidfibers. The fabric has a weight ranging from 5.5 to 8 OSY, preferably,7.5 OSY.

[0008] One popular outer shell fabric is a woven fabric of spun yarnsconsisting of PBI and aramid staple. This fabric is known in the marketas ‘PBI GOLD®.’ In the U.S., this fabric generally is made in thefollowing forms: 1) a 7.5 OSY rip stop weave made from a 16/2 c.c. spunyarns consisting of 40% by weight PBI and 60% by weight of apara-aramid; or 2) a nominal 7.0 OSY (actual 7.3 to 7.4 OSY) rip stopweave made from a 21/2 c.c. spun yarns consisting of 40% PBI and 60% ofthe para-aramid. Internationally, this fabric is in the form of a 6.0 to6.5 OSY rip stop weave 24-25/2 c.c. spun yarns of 40% PBI and 60%para-aramid, or a twill weave made from 35/2 c.c. spun yarns of 40% PBIand 60% para-aramid.

[0009] Another fabric used as an outer shell fabric is marketed underthe trade name ‘Millenia’ from Southern Mills, Inc. of Union City, Ga.The Millenia fabric is made with a spun yarn consisting of 40% PBO and60% para-aramid staple.

[0010] While ‘PBI GOLD®’ has proven to be an excellent outer shellfabric, there is still a need to improve these fabrics. There is adesire to have lighter weight fabrics that have better tear and abrasionresistance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention is directed to a textile fabric. Thisfabric is preferably used as the outer shell fabric of a firefighter'sgarment. The fabric is a woven or knitted fabric of spun yarns andmulti-filament yarns. The spun yarn includes a first staple being apolymer selected from the group consisting of aramid or PBI or PBO ormelamine formaldehyde, and a second staple being an aramid polymer. Themulti-filament yarn includes an aramid filament.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown inthe drawings a form of the invention; it being understood, however, thatthis invention is not limited to the precise arrangements andinstrumentality shown.

[0013]FIG. 1 is a plan view of the textile fabric made according to thepresent invention.

[0014]FIG. 2 is a magnified plan view of the textile fabric madeaccording to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Referring to the drawings wherein like numerals indicate likeelements there is shown in FIG. 1 an illustration of the textile fabric10 made according to the present invention. Preferably, the fabric 10has a gold color with a ‘checkered’ pattern created by blackmulti-filament yarns 14. The fabric 10 may be woven or knitted. Thefabric 10 is preferably woven with spun yarns 12 and multi-filamentyarns 14. The weaves are selected from the group consisting of plain,twill, rip stop, and oxford. The fabric weight may range from 6 to 8OSY, preferably, 7 OSY. The weight ratio of spun yarns to multi-filamentyarns should range from 85:15 to 92:8, preferably, 90:10. Themulti-filament yarn may be inserted among the spun yarns, in both thewarp and weft, at an insertion ratio of 1:5 to 1:20, preferably, 1:9.Preferably, the fabric is treated with a water/moisture resistantfinish, as is well known.

[0016] The spun yarns 12 are a blend of a first staple and a secondstaple. The first staple is fiber made from a polymer selected from thegroup of aramid, PBI, PBO, melamine formaldehyde, or combinationsthereof. The second staple is a fiber made from an aramid or blends ofaramids. Exemplary spun yarns include, but are not limited to, blends ofaramid staple, PBI and aramid staple, PBO and aramid staple, melamineformaldehyde and aramid staple, and PBI, PBO, melamine formaldehyde andaramid staple. The spun yarns may have any weight ratio of first andsecond staples. The weight ratio of first and second staple ispreferably 20-60% by weight first staple and 40-80% by weight secondstaple. The spun yarns most preferably comprise 30-45% by weight of thefirst staple and 55-70% by weight of the aramid staple. The spun yarnsmay range in size from 32/2 to 16/2 c.c., preferably, 24/2 c.c.

[0017] PBI staple fibers are commercially available from CelaneseAcetate LLC of Charlotte, N.C. PBO staple fibers are commerciallyavailable under the trade name of ZYLON® from Toyobo Co., Ltd. of Osaka,Japan. Melamine formaldehyde fibers are commercially available under thetrade name of BASOFIL® from BASF Corporation of Mount Olive, N.J.

[0018] The aramid staple fibers may be either a meta-aramid or apara-aramid. Such aramid fibers are commercially available under thetrade name of TWARON®, CONEX®, and TECHNORA® from Teijin Co. of Osaka,Japan; or NOMEX® or KELVAR® from DuPont of Wilmington, Del.; or P84 fromLenzing AG of Lenzing, Austria; or KERMEL® from Rhodia Inc. of Cranbury,N.J. When the aramid staple fiber forms the second staple mentionedabove, it may be either meta-aramid or para-aramid. When the aramidstaple fiber forms the second staple mentioned above, it is preferablythe para-aramid.

[0019] The multi-filament yarn is made from aramid filament. Aramid maybe either meta-aramid or para-aramid, the para-aramid is preferred. Sucharamid fibers are commercially available under the trade name ofTECHNORA®, TWARON®, and CONEX® from Teijin Co. of Osaka, Japan, orNOMEX® or KELVAR® from DuPont of Wilmington, Del., or P84 from LenzingAG of Lenzing, Austria or KERMEL® from Rhodia Inc. of Cranbury, N.J. Themulti-filament yarn ranges in size from 200 to 1500 denier, preferably,400 denier. The multi-filament yarn may be a flat yarn, a twisted yarn,or a stretch broken yarn.

[0020] The instant invention has superior tear and abrasion resistance,at a lower weight, over the PBI GOLD® fabric. The results are set forthin Table 1.

[0021] Fabric A is 6.0 OSY fabric; spun yarn is 27/2 c.c. with 45percent weight PBI and 55 percent Technora® staple; multi-filament is aflat yarn inserted every 10^(th) yarn in the warp and weft.

[0022] Fabric B is 6.9 OSY fabric; spun yarn is 24/2 c.c. with 45percent weight PBI and 55 percent Twaron® microdenier staple;multi-filament is a twisted yarn inserted every 9^(th) yarn in the warpand weft. TABLE 1 Performance Invention Invention Characteristic TestMethod PBI Gold A B Weight (OSY) 7.5 6.0 6.8-7.0 Trap Tear (lbs.) ASTMD5733 40 × 35 75 × 75 63 × 63 (Trapezoida 1 Method) Tabor abrasion ASTMD-3884 225 180 293 (500 g wt. With H18 abrasion wheel) Thermal NFPA 197140 40 40 Protective (2000 Performance, TPP Edition (Composite) Section6.10) Trap Tear after AATCC 16 E UV (Standard Method for Xenon arcexposure at 1.1 rad)  60 hr 28.4 × 18.7 44.6 × 38.5 180 hr 17.8 × 12.325.7 × 18.9 300 hr 15.2 × 10.6 21.2 × 16.1 Trap Tear after ASTM D5733Sunlight (Trapezoid Method) 1 week 30.8 × 20.8 64.9 × 62.7 2 week 24.3 ×17.0 45.5 × 40.1 3 week 20.0 × 14.6 39.0 × 34.2 4 week 18.8 × 13.1 34.0× 33.9 5 week 16.6 × 13.5 29.7 × 30.1 6 week 14.8 × 10.5 26.6 × 23.6

[0023] The present invention made be embodied in other forms withoutdeparting from the spirit and the central attributes thereof and,accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, ratherthan to the foregoing specification, as indicated the scope of theinvention.

In the claims:
 1. A textile fabric comprising: a woven material of spunyarns including first staple being a polymer selected from the groupconsisting of aramid, PBI, PBO, or melamine formaldehyde, and a secondstaple of an aramid polymer; multi-filament yarns including an aramidfilament; and a weight ratio of spun yarn to multi-filament yarn rangesfrom 85:15 to 92:8.
 2. The fabric of claim 1 wherein the weight ratio ofspun yarn to multi-filament yarn is 90:10.
 3. The fabric of claim 1wherein said multi-filament yarns being inserted into said wovenmaterial, in both the warp and the weft, at a multi-filament yarn tospun yarn ratio of 1:5 to 1:20.
 4. The fabric of claim 1 wherein thewoven fabric weight ranging from 6 to 8 OSY.
 5. The fabric of claim 1wherein the woven fabric has a weave selected from the group consistingplain, twill, rip stop, or oxford.
 6. The fabric of claim 1 wherein thespun yarn ranges from 32/2 to 16/2 c.c.
 7. The fabric of claim 1 whereinthe multi-filament yarn ranges from 200 to 1500 denier.
 8. The fabric ofclaim 1 wherein a weight ratio of the first staple to the second stapleranges from 20-60% :40-80%.
 9. A textile fabric comprising: a wovenmaterial of spun yarn, said spun yarn being a blend of staple, a firststaple being made of a polymer selected from the group consisting ofaramid, PBI, PBO, melamine formaldehyde, or combinations thereof and asecond staple being made of an aramid, and a multi-filament yarnincluding aramid filaments, said multi-filament yarns being insertedinto said woven material, in both the warp and the weft, at amulti-filament yarn to spun yarn ratio of 1:5 to 1:20.
 10. The fabric ofclaim 9 wherein said spun yarn being a blend of aramid staple.
 11. Thefabric of claim 9 wherein said spun yarn being a blend of PBI and aramidstaple.
 12. The fabric of claim 9 wherein said spun yarn being a blendof PBO and aramid staple.
 13. The fabric of claim 9 wherein said spunyarn being a blend of PBI, PBO, and aramid staple.
 14. The fabric ofclaim 9 wherein the spun yarn ranges from 32/2 to 16/2 c.c.
 15. Thefabric of claim 9 wherein the multi-filament yarn ranges from 200 to1500 denier.
 16. The fabric of claim 9 wherein the woven fabric weightranging from 6 to 8 OSY.
 17. The fabric of claim 16 wherein the wovenfabric has a weave selected from the group consisting plain, twill, ripstop, or oxford.
 18. A textile fabric comprising: a woven material ofspun yarn, said spun yarn being a blend of staple, a first staple beingmade of an aramid polymer selected from the group consisting ofmeta-aramid, para-aramid, or combinations thereof and a second staplebeing made of an aramid polymer selected from the group consisting ofmeta-aramid, para-aramid, or combinations thereof, and a multi-filamentyarn including aramid filaments, said multi-filament yarns beinginserted into said woven material, in both the warp and the weft, at amulti-filament yarn to spun yarn ratio of 1:5 to 1:20.
 19. A textilefabric comprising: a woven material of spun yarns including first staplebeing an aramid polymer selected from the group consisting ofmeta-aramid, para-aramid, and combinations thereof, and a second stapleof an aramid polymer; multi-filament yarns including an aramid filament;and a weight ratio of spun yarn to multi-filament yarn ranges from 85:15to 92:8.